Construction machine with offset hopper rear walls

ABSTRACT

A construction machine according to the disclosure comprises a material hopper for receiving bulk material. The material hopper comprises a first sub-hopper that is pivotable about a first axis and a second sub-hopper that is pivotable about a second axis, wherein the first and second axes extend parallel to each other. The first and second sub-hoppers each comprise a rear wall, and the rear walls are shifted with respect to each other in a direction parallel to the axes, whereby a collision of the rear walls is prevented when pivoting the first and/or the second sub-hopper.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims foreign priority benefits under 35 U.S.C.§119(a)-(d) to German patent application number DE 20 2014 007 084.9,filed Aug. 29, 2014, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to a construction machine with a material hopperfor receiving bulk material.

BACKGROUND

Construction machines with material hoppers for receiving bulk materialare known from practice. For example, road pavers and also feeders areoften used in road construction and at the front side have a materialhopper for receiving asphalt. DE 200 20 945 U1 and EP 2 711 460 A1 arepresently mentioned by way of example. These material hoppers are oftendivided into several sub-hoppers by conveying devices. In most cases, aconveyor belt is used, also known as a scraper belt, which runs parallelto the direction of travel of the road paver through the center of thehopper. This creates two sub-hoppers. They are commonly pivotable aboutan axis which runs substantially parallel to the direction of travel ofthe road paver, so that the asphalt in the respective sub-hopper can bedumped onto the scraper belt.

Rear walls are usually attached at the—when viewed in the direction oftravel—rear side of the hopper or the sub-hoppers and limit the intakevolume of the material hopper. It can during the above-mentioned pivotalmotion in conventional hoppers occur that these rear walls collide. Thisproblem occurs especially in smaller models. Such is disclosed forexample in DE 92 04 628 U1. For this reason, rear walls being reduced inheight are used in such smaller models. This entails the drawback thatthe storage volume of the material hopper decreases.

SUMMARY

An object of the disclosure is to provide a construction machine whichis improved in a manner structurally as simple as possible to reduce oreliminate the drawbacks of prior art. This object is satisfied by aconstruction machine according to the disclosure.

In order to avoid a collision of the rear walls without reducing thestorage volume of the material hopper, an improved construction machineis proposed. Such a construction machine comprises a material hopper forreceiving bulk material. The material hopper comprises a firstsub-hopper being pivotable about a first axis and a second sub-hopperbeing pivotable about a second axis, wherein the first and the secondaxes extend parallel to each other. Furthermore, the first and thesecond sub-hopper each comprise a rear wall. The proposed constructionmachine is characterized in that the rear walls are shifted with respectto each other in a direction parallel to the axes whereby a collision ofthe rear walls is prevented when pivoting the first and/or the secondsub-hopper. Rear walls are here to be understood as structures of theconstruction machine or the material hopper which limit the storagevolume of the material hopper or the respective sub-hopper towards therear—when viewed in the direction of travel.

In the event that the material hopper is provided in a region that is inthe direction of travel located in the rear of the construction machine,then rear walls can also be understood to be structures that limit thestorage volume of the sub-hopper or the entire material hopper,respectively, towards the front—when viewed in the direction of travel.Generally, those structures which are provided on a side of therespective sub-hopper that is located opposite from a side from whichthe material hopper is loaded are to be understood as rear walls. Suchrear walls are generally provided perpendicular to a base area of therespective sub-hopper. However, it is also conceivable that a differentangle is provided between the rear wall and the base area. The sameapplies similarly to the angle between the respective rear wall and therespective axis. Here as well, the angle is generally 90°, but can alsoassume any other value.

The shifting of the walls can be realized in various ways. For example,one rear wall can be shifted within the respective sub-hopper. It isalso conceivable that modified hinges are used for pivoting thesub-hopper. It is there generally sufficient if the hinge or hinges ofone of the sub-hoppers are modified. However, also the hinges of severalsub-hoppers can be modified. It is as a modification of the hingesconceivable to modify their geometry as well as to use geometricallyidentical hinges which are only mounted in a shifted way. The modifiedmounting position of the hinges can there—like the geometricmodification—be provided on one of the sub-hoppers as well as on theconstruction machine. If the modification of the hinge is provided on asub-hopper itself, it may then be possible to retrofit conventionalconstruction machines with a modified sub-hopper or a set of modifiedsub-hoppers without any modifications to the machine-side hinges beingnecessary.

The configuration described above has the advantage that noconsideration needs to be given to the pivot angle of the sub-hopperswhen designing the height of the rear walls. This means that the intakevolume of the material hopper can be increased by enlarging the rearwalls without there being any risk of collision of the rear walls whichwould reduce the setting angle of the sub-hopper.

It is advantageous to have the first and the second axis extend in adirection of travel of the construction machine.

However, it is also conceivable that the first and the second axisextend at an angle to the direction of travel of the constructionmachine. The first and the second axis can there at said angle—whenviewed in the direction of travel—slope down towards the front ortowards the rear.

The construction machine can in a variant comprise a machine wall whichextends substantially parallel to the rear walls. A first distancebetween the machine wall and the rear wall of the first sub-hopper canthere be greater than a second distance between the machine wall and therear wall of the second sub-hopper. Such a configuration can arise inparticular when the machine wall is substantially planar. Due to thegreater distance between the machine wall and the rear wall of the firstsub-hopper, it is possible that bulk material unintentionally enters inparticular this region.

To prevent this and still achieve the advantages stated above, it can beadvantageous to have a stripper be disposed between the machine wall andthe rear wall of the first sub-hopper which prevents bulk material fromentering a gap between the machine wall and the rear wall of the firstsub-hopper. This can prevent numerous adverse consequences, such as theloss of bulk material which can sometimes escape through the gap to thesurroundings of the construction machine, whereby significant amounts ofbulk material can very well be lost, or the impairment of movement ofthe first sub-hopper due to bulk material being located in the gap. Thestripper can have any geometry reliably preventing or at least reducingthe bulk material entering the gap between the machine wall and the rearwall of the first sub-hopper without impairing the movement of the firstsub-hopper. This also depends on where the stripper is provided.

It is conceivable that the stripper is attached to the machine wall.

The stripper can in a variant comprise a resilient lip which can bearagainst the first wall. In this case, the resilient lip can adapt to thecontour of the first wall, whereby the sealing effect of the stripper isyet increased.

In a further variant, the machine wall can comprise a first and a secondportion, wherein the first portion of the machine wall extendssubstantially parallel to the rear wall of the first sub-hopper and thesecond portion of the machine wall extends substantially parallel to therear wall of the second sub-hopper, and wherein the portions of themachine wall are along the axes offset relative to one another. Theoffset between the two portions of the machine wall can be achieved, forexample, by a step-shaped shoulder. This can then at least in partsatisfy a scraping function. However, a smooth transition between thetwo portions of the machine wall is also conceivable. A resilient lip atthe first portion of the machine wall is likewise conceivable.

In a further variant, a first distance between the first portion of themachine wall and the rear wall of the first sub-hopper and a seconddistance between the second portion of the machine wall and the rearwall of the second sub-hopper are equal in size. It can thereby beachieved that only a very small gap is formed on either side and noadditional stripper is therefore needed.

It is advantageous to have the first sub-hopper comprise a first edge ata side located across from the rear wall of the first sub-hopper, andthe second sub-hopper comprise a second edge at a side located acrossfrom the rear wall of the second sub-hopper, wherein the first and thesecond edge are in a plan view from above aligned flush with each other.This can be advantageous when loading the material hopper.

In a further advantageous variant, the construction machine is a roadpaver or a feeder.

The disclosure relates to a construction machine of the kind describedabove, for example, a road paver or a feeder. Embodiments according tothe present disclosure are described in detail with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a construction machine, in this case a road paver, in aperspective front view;

FIG. 2 schematically shows the arrangement of two hoppers rear walls anda machine wall of a conventional construction machine in a plan viewfrom above;

FIG. 3 schematically shows the arrangement according to the disclosureof two hoppers rear walls in relation to two pivot axes and thedirection of travel of a construction machine also in a plan view fromabove;

FIG. 4 shows two possible alignments of the pivot axes relative to thedirection of travel of the construction machine in a schematic sideview;

FIG. 5 shows the arrangement according to the disclosure of the hopperrear walls and a machine wall according to a first embodiment in aschematic plan view from above;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic plan view from above of an arrangementaccording to the disclosure of hopper rear walls and a machine wallaccording to a further embodiment in which a stripper is used;

FIG. 7 shows a further embodiment in a schematic plan view from above inwhich a stripper with a resilient lip is used;

FIG. 8A shows a perspective front view of a material hopper of aconstruction machine, of which only the machine wall is shown, accordingto the second embodiment in which a stripper is used;

FIG. 8B shows the view from FIG. 8A, wherein one of the sub-hoppers isshown in a position pivoted upwardly;

FIG. 9A shows the configuration illustrated in FIG. 8A in a plan viewfrom above;

FIG. 9B shows the configuration illustrated in FIG. 8B in a plan viewfrom above;

FIG. 10 shows a schematic plan view from above of an arrangementaccording to the disclosure of two sub-hopper rear walls and a machinewall according to a further embodiment; and

FIG. 11 shows a schematic plan view from above of the arrangementaccording to the disclosure of two sub-hopper rear walls and a machinewall according to a further embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, detailed embodiments are disclosed herein. It is to beunderstood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplaryand that various and alternative forms are possible. The figures are notnecessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized toshow details of particular components. Therefore, specific structuraland functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted aslimiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilledin the art to variously employ the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 by way of example shows a road paver 1 as a construction machine1. It moves in the direction of travel R. Road paver 1 comprises amaterial hopper 2 which in the present embodiment comprises a first anda second sub-hopper 3, 4. However, further additional sub-hoppers arealso conceivable. First sub-hopper 3 comprises a first base area 5 and afirst rear wall 6. Similarly, second sub-hopper 4 comprises a secondbase area 7 and a second rear wall 8.

A conveyor device 9, in the present case conveying bulk material (e.g.,asphalt) in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of roadpaver 1, extends between first sub-hopper 3 and second sub-hopper 4.First sub-hopper 3 is pivotable about a first axis 10 to pour bulkmaterial located in first sub-hopper 3 onto conveyor device 9.Similarly, second sub-hopper 4 is pivotable about a second axis 11 topour bulk material located in second sub-hopper 4 onto conveyor device9.

Road paver 1 comprises a machine wall 12 which is in the direction oftravel R disposed behind material hopper 2. This machine wall 12 can bea wall that covers machine components located behind material hopper 2,such as a primary drive or motor. However, it is also conceivable thatmachine wall 12, as shown in FIG. 1, is configured as a wall provided inaddition to a machine cover.

FIG. 2 shows a conventional arrangement of a machine wall 12′ and twosub-hopper rear walls 6′ and 8′ in a schematic plan view. As can beseen, sub-hopper rear walls 6′, 8′ are disposed along pivot axes 10′ and11′ exactly across from each other so that collisions can occur whenhopper rear walls 6′ and 8′ are pivoted about axes 10′, 11′. Incontrast, in the configuration according to the disclosure asillustrated in FIG. 3, sub-hopper rear walls 6, 8 are shifted in adirection parallel to axes 10, 11 by an offset 21 so that suchcollisions can no longer occur.

It is also apparent from FIG. 3 that axes 10, 11 extend parallel to thedirection of travel R of road paver 1. However, it is also possible thataxes 10, 11, as shown in FIG. 4, can extend at an angle to the directionof travel R. FIG. 4 shows the course of axes 10, 11 in a schematic sideview. For illustration purposes, sub-hopper rear walls 6, 8 and machinewall 12 are also illustrated in a schematic sectional view. The angledrawn by the directional vector of the direction of travel R and axes10, 11 respectively is in practice often 0°, this means that axes 10, 11extend parallel to the direction of travel R. However, it can just aswell assume any value between + and −45°. The angle also visible in FIG.4 between each of the axes 10, 11 and the respectively associatedsub-hopper rear wall 6, 8 can be selected as suitable. In practice, itoften assumes 90°. However, it is also conceivable that it assumes avalue in the range between 45° and 135°.

Various embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated In FIGS. 5 to 7 inwhich machine wall 12 has a planar surface in the direction ofsub-hopper rear walls 6, 8. Due to shifted sub-hopper rear walls 6, 8, afirst distance 13 between first sub-hopper rear wall 6 and machine wall12 arises that is greater than a second distance 14 between secondsub-hopper rear wall 8 and machine wall 12. While second distance 14 canbe maintained constant with respect to the conventional configurationand thereby only a negligibly small amount of bulk material can enterinto a second gap 23 thus arising, distance 13 for a planar machine wall12 must necessarily be greater, whereby bulk material can enter in a notnegligible amount between first sub-hopper rear wall 6 and machine wall12. This can be remedied by the embodiment shown in FIG. 6. There, astripper 15 is provided which can reduce the amount of bulk materialthat can enter in a gap 22 between first rear wall 6 and machine wall12. In the present embodiment, stripper 15 is attached to machine wall12, for example, by welding, gluing, or threaded fasteners. However, itis also conceivable that stripper 15 is attached to first rear wall 6.For further reduction of the amount of bulk material that can enter gap22 between first rear wall 6 and machine wall 12, a resilient lip 16 canbe provided on stripper 15, as illustrated in FIG. 7. It can furtherincrease the sealing effect of stripper 15 as it can adapt to thecontour of first rear wall 6.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show a perspective front view of the embodiment shown inFIG. 6. Stripper 15 there has a shape narrowing towards the top.However, it should be understood that any other suitable shape is alsoconceivable. As can be seen from FIG. 8B, stripper 15 is attached tomachine wall 12 and remains in its position when first sub-hopper 3pivots. Should bulk material of first and or second sub-hopper 3, 4enter gap 22 between first rear wall 6 and machine wall 12, then it isagain pushed out of gap 22 when first sub-hopper 3 pivots back to thestarting position.

FIG. 9A shows the configuration illustrated in FIG. 8A in a plan viewfrom above. It can be seen in this view that first sub-hopper 6comprises a first edge 17 which is provided on a side of base area 5that is located opposite from first rear wall 6. Similarly, a secondedge 18 is provided on second sub-hopper 4 and arranged on a side ofbase area 7 disposed opposite from second rear wall 8. It is visible inFIG. 9A that first and second edges 17, 18 are in the illustrated planview from the top aligned flush to each other. This applies both for thestate in which sub-hoppers 3, 4 are arranged in the lower startingposition as well as a state in which one or both sub-hoppers 3, 4 weremoved to the upwardly pivoted position. FIG. 9B by way of example forthe latter state illustrates first sub-hopper 3 pivoted upwardly.

As an alternative to the use of stripper 15, as shown in FIG. 10,machine wall 12 can also be adapted to the shifted arrangement ofsub-hopper rear walls 6, 8. Machine wall 12 can, for example, comprise afirst portion 12 a and a second portion 12 b, wherein first portion 12 aof machine wall 12 extends substantially parallel to first rear wall 6of first sub-hopper 3, and second portion 12 b of machine wall 12extends substantially parallel to second rear wall 8 of secondsub-hopper 4. Similarly to the shifted arrangement of first and secondrear walls 6, 8, also first and second portions 12 a, 12 b can beshifted with respect to each other. For example, they can be shifted bythe same value as first and the second rear walls 6, 8, so that adistance between first portion 12 a and first rear wall 6 and a distancebetween second portion 12 b and second rear wall 8 are equal. However,any other suitable value for the shift between the two portions 12 a, 12b is also conceivable. As a transition between portions 12 a, 12 b, asshown in FIG. 10, a stepped transition 19 can be provided. However, asmooth transition 20 is also conceivable as shown in FIG. 11. Both typesof transition can—like the stripper—be combined with a resilient lip 16.

While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended thatthese embodiments describe all possible forms of the disclosure. Thewords used in the specification are words of description rather thanlimitation, and it is understood that various changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may becombined to form further embodiments according to the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A construction machine comprising: a materialhopper for receiving bulk material, the material hopper comprising afirst sub-hopper that is pivotable about a first axis and a secondsub-hopper that is pivotable about a second axis, wherein the first axisand the second axis extend parallel to each other, and wherein the firstand second sub-hoppers each comprise a rear wall, the rear walls beingshifted with respect to each other in a direction parallel to the axes,whereby a collision of the rear walls is prevented when pivoting thefirst sub-hopper and/or the second sub-hopper.
 2. The constructionmachine according to claim 1 wherein the first axis and the second axisextend in the direction of travel of the construction machine.
 3. Theconstruction machine according to claim 1 wherein the first and secondaxes extend at an angle to the direction of travel of the constructionmachine.
 4. The construction machine according to claim 1 furthercomprising a machine wall extending substantially parallel to the rearwalls.
 5. The construction machine according to claim 4 wherein a firstdistance between the machine wall and the rear wall of the firstsub-hopper is greater than a second distance between the machine walland the rear wall of the second sub-hopper.
 6. The construction machineaccording to claim 5 further comprising a stripper disposed between themachine wall and the rear wall of the first sub-hopper, the stripperbeing configured to prevent bulk material from entering a gap betweenthe machine wall and the rear wall of the first sub-hopper.
 7. Theconstruction machine according to claim 6 wherein the stripper isattached to the machine wall.
 8. The construction machine according toclaim 6 wherein the stripper comprises a resilient lip.
 9. Theconstruction machine according to claim 7 wherein the stripper comprisesa resilient lip.
 10. The construction machine according to claim 8wherein the resilient lip bears against the rear wall of the firstsub-hopper.
 11. The construction machine according to claim 1 furthercomprising a machine wall having first and second portions, wherein thefirst portion of the machine wall extends substantially parallel to therear wall of the first sub-hopper and the second portion of the machinewall extends substantially parallel to the rear wall of the secondpartial hopper, and wherein the portions of the machine wall are shiftedwith respect to each other in a direction parallel to the axes.
 12. Theconstruction machine according to claim 11 wherein a first distancebetween the first portion of machine wall and the rear wall of the firstsub-hopper and a second distance between the second portion of themachine wall and the rear wall of the second sub-hopper are equal insize.
 13. The construction machine according to claim 1 wherein thefirst sub-hopper comprises a first edge at a side located opposite fromthe rear wall of the first sub-hopper, and the second sub-hoppercomprises a second edge at a side located opposite from the rear wall ofthe second sub-hopper, wherein the first and second edges are in a planview from above aligned flush with each other.
 14. The constructionmachine according to claim 1 wherein the construction machine is a roadpaver or a feeder.